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Calendar 2005 announced.
Bracknell. The competitors in the 2005 Formula BMW UK Championship will gain valuable experience on the most prestigious race tracks in the UK and Ireland in a ten race series that runs from April to October. The Championship will visit the same ten venues as in 2004, although there will be a couple of important differences.
The opening round on the 10th April will be at Donington Park, where last year's series held its championship deciding finale. To give the drivers even more experience on challenging tracks, the second of the two rounds at Brands Hatch, which will be the last race on the 2nd October, will be on the Grand Prix circuit.
"We know thanks to feedback from the competitors and spectators the series was a great success in its inaugural year, and we look forward to another exciting and closely fought championship in 2005," said BMW GB Motorsport Manager, Peter Walker.
BMW Ireland has also announced the name of the driver who will be receiving its scholarship for the 2005 season. He is Dean Jones from Ashbourne, Co Meath. This brings up to eight the numbers who will receive a £35,000 scholarship for 2005 from BMW. The others are Euan Alers- Hankey, Edward Hoy, Michael Meadows, Joe Osborne and Aaron Steele, who were chosen from the scholarship course in Valencia in September, Jonathan Legris, who delayed his for a year due to ill health, and 2004 Rookie Cup winner, Ross Curnow.
The championship will again be supporting the MSA British Touring Car Championship at all but one of its races. The Formula BMW UK Championship visits Rockingham, the home of the BMW Performance Centre, where members of the general public as well as BMW dealers and their customers can book sessions to drive the cars in the manufacturer's extensive range.
This event called "BMW Power Day" will demonstrate BMW's long-term commitment to motorsport. In addition to the Formula BMW races there will be demonstration laps of the BMW WilliamsF1 Team's car, the BMW V12 LMR, the BMW M3 GTR and the BMW 320i WTCC.
The Formula BMW UK Championship drivers will also have the chance to test their cars before the opening round as there will be eight official test days. The first will be on the 18th February at Thruxton, while the other circuits to be used are Brands Hatch, Oulton Park and Silverstone.
For the second successive year visitors to Autosport International, at the Birmingham NEC from the 13th to the 16th January, can visit the BMW GB stand to find out more information on the series and inspect one of the Formula BMW race cars. Also available to give advice on the first two days of the show will be the Formula BMW UK Chief Instructor, Andy Priaulx, who won the 2004 FIA European Touring Car Championship in the BMW GB entered BMW 320i. Tim Bridgman, who won the 2004 Formula BMW UK Championship, and Ross Curnow, who won the Rookie Cup, will also make appearances.
2005 Formula BMW UK Championship Calendar:
9-10 April: Donington Park, Derbyshire
30 April/1May: Thruxton, Hampshire
21-22 May: Rockingham, Northamptonshire
4-5 June: Brands Hatch, Kent
18-19 June: Oulton Park, Kent
16-17 July: Croft, North Yorkshire
23-24 July: Mondello Park, Southern Ireland
27-28 August: Knockhill, Scotland
17-18 September: Silverstone, Northamptonshire
1-2 October Brands Hatch, Kent
Background:
Formula BMW is the world's leading entry-level class in Formula racing. In 2005 the series will be held in Germany, Britain, Asia and the USA. Up-and- coming drivers as young as 15-years-old are given the opportunity of entering motor racing with the high-tech, standard FB2 race car.
This racing car has been seen on the grid since 2002 and has set standards particularly on the safety technology front. A single-seater propelled by a 140 bhp BMW motorcycle engine up to 230km/h, it exceeds by far the safety requirements for its class. BMW Motorsport has developed the FORS Formula Rescue Race Seat especially for Formula BMW and the HANS safety system is also mandatory.
In 2005, Formula BMW will be staged give times as part of the Formula One Support programme. All the series offer a multifaceted Education and Coaching Programme as well as sponsorship for promising racing talents. The best-known alumni of this talent hothouse are Formula One drivers Ralf Schumacher, Christian Klien and Timo Glock.
BMW Motorsport Director, Mario Theissen: "Formula BMW offers talented young drivers more than just a car. In the Education and Coaching Programme we have designed specially for them, they learn everything they need to know to hold their own in the big wide world of motor racing. Formula BMW has shot out of the blocks to become the top entry-level class for Formula racing worldwide."Only registered users can write comments.
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BMW Racing News 
Thursday, 15 May 2008
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